Chapter 194

The rear guard members of the convoy sensed something amiss and turned their heads toward this direction.

Upon seeing An Shenyi's right eye gushing blood like a waterfall, all of them froze with shock and terror.

But before they could speak or move, their expressions simultaneously went blank.

The next moment, they all turned back around, as if nothing had happened, and continued marching with the convoy as usual.

Only Ma Ling'er was still smiling.

"It won't work on me."

"An Shenyi" calmly regarded her.

"Why…?"

"Indeed, why?"

Ma Ling'er blinked, a hint of pride in her voice: "Because I'm not ordinary…"

Sssss!

A bloodied hand pierced through Ma Ling'er's waist.

Ma Ling'er's voice cut off instantly.

Her sturdy physique seemed nonexistent before "An Shenyi."

Blood dripped steadily to the ground: tap, tap, tap.

Ma Ling'er stared dully down at the bloodied hand piercing her waist, her face as pale as paper.

"... Why lack even a shred of self-awareness?"

Ssssh.

An Shenyi calmly withdrew his bloodied hand and used her clothing to wipe it clean.

But Ma Ling'er could no longer speak.

As An Shenyi pulled his hand away, she collapsed like a pillar had been removed, too weak even to keep her vision clear.

Her breathing grew heavy and frantic.

She tried to speak, but lacked even the strength to form words.

Her consciousness… was fading.

She fainted.

At that moment, "An Shenyi's" right eye had returned to normal; he suddenly stopped, standing frozen in place.

The trails of blood streaming down his cheek were absorbed into his skin, leaving no trace behind.

"An Shenyi, why did you stop… AHHH!!"

The high-pitched scream from the rear guard member snapped An Shenyi back to awareness.

What… happened?

An Shenyi was dazed; whether from age or something else, he'd lately been plagued by the feeling that he'd forgotten something crucial, yet couldn't recall what.

But many people experienced this, so An Shenyi paid it little mind.

Seeing the guard member scream with a pale face, An Shenyi's expression darkened.

"Quiet! Don't panic! Noise will attract the strange…"

Just as An Shenyi spoke these words, his gaze swept over Ma Ling'er lying in a pool of blood.

His pupils contracted; his face turned ashen.

"Ma Ling'er?! Situation! Everyone, take immediate defensive positions!"

Before An Shenyi could speak, the initial high-pitched scream had already drawn everyone's attention to this spot.

"What happened to Ma Ling'er?!"

"Something pierced her waist!"

"Strange? What kind of strange thing could slip past all our guards so silently and kill Ma Ling'er outright?!"

"If this strange thing can strike down a target in a crowd of hundreds, doesn't that mean any one of us could be killed at any moment?!"

With this speculation, every face turned grim.

Encountering the strange while traveling was unavoidable.

But encountering a strange this powerful was something no one wished to face—especially… in broad daylight!

A strange appearing during the day didn't mean it was stronger; after all, the strange merely disliked daylight.

But a strange active during the day was indeed more dangerous, since we traveled by day and aimed to reach the next village before nightfall.

Ma Ling'er's collapse sent waves of panic through the group, yet no one showed particular concern for her.

In this moment of dire self-preservation and tension, they didn't even spare her a second glance, assuming she was dead, all eyes scanning the surroundings for any trace of the strange.

"No whispering! Everyone focus on observing your surroundings! Report any anomalies immediately!"

At that moment, a loud shout came from the front.

With the sound of hooves, Fang Yue arrived at the rear of the convoy with the Blood Hunters.

Seeing Fang Yue, the convoy members instantly felt as if they'd found an anchor, calming down and obeying orders without hesitation.

As if only Fang Yue's presence ensured their safety and the convoy's survival.

After all… he was Night Deputy Captain! A man who had slain multiple stranges without pausing for breath!

Last night's massacre of the Sheep Hollow Strange at the entrance of Chaoyue Village had inspired countless souls.

In their hearts, Fang Yue's status had far surpassed Lin Ling's, becoming the number one person in Gu Yue Cun after Lord Han.

"An Shenyi, how is she?"

After instructing the guards, Fang Yue immediately dismounted and walked over.

Fang Yue's face was grim too; from the front of the convoy, he had sensed not the slightest trace of the strange's presence.

Only after something happened behind them did they realize Ma Ling'er had been attacked.

Either this anomaly's power was so great no one could detect it, or its concealment technique was so refined no one could break it.

The former is truly beyond remedy; the latter still allows for wild speculation that the anomaly's power is weak, and only its concealment is strong.

"She's not dead, but badly wounded…"

Saying this, An Shenyi glanced around and lowered his voice.

"Does Yeye want to save her? Let me be clear—the medical fees won't be cheap."

Fang Yue blinked in surprise. Was he asking for money now?

Fang Yue felt annoyed. Could this guy have even a shred of a healer's compassion?

Thinking of Ma Tiejiang's parting instructions, Fang Yue said seriously: "Save her. Money is no problem!"

Right, anyway it's not my money. Worst case, once you've saved her, go collect from Ma Tiejiang.

Ma Tiejiang has lived in the village this long—he can definitely afford it.

An Shenyi looked at Fang Yue with surprise—good kid, you said you two weren't involved!

Giving Fang Yue a look only men understand, An Shenyi nodded: "Relax. I'll definitely keep her alive. But I don't have enough herbs on me right now—only pills to temporarily sustain her life. To truly heal her wounds, we must reach Mo Cun."

"As long as she lives… Can you tell what injured her?"

At Fang Yue's question, An Shenyi's expression grew more serious.

"The wound is too deep, the damage too severe. All I can say is it looks like something claw-like pierced straight through her waist."

"Claws… Can you tell which anomaly did this?"

"That's beyond me… Throughout the world, no one could identify a specific anomaly just from a common type of wound."

"I suppose I assumed too much. Tell me in detail what happened before she was injured."

"Before she was injured…"

An Shenyi was about to speak, but after careful recollection, he could recall no specific memory.

"I don't know. Before she was injured, there was no warning. I was on guard at the rear of the group, watching for anomalies, when someone in the group screamed—I turned and found her lying in a pool of blood."

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day to everyone.

When I just woke up, I thought I'd already updated today… I was half-asleep.

Today my niece came home and wanted to play on the computer… you know how it is. When she went to sleep, I was tired too, so I planned to nap a bit before getting back to writing—but I overslept…

Now I'm going back to sleep. For the next few days, I'll probably only do minimum updates (two posts, try to do more), since I need to spend time with family, so writing is especially hard.

I owe ten updates—I'll start repaying them from the 7th.

I still owe twenty-seven updates from tips, totaling forty-four updates—quite a lot, but with my pace, I should clear them in five days.

(End of chapter)